Get Date Night Ready!

Valentines Day is here and that usually means that it’s time to shave. We asked the beautiful Camilla Corder from All Dolled Upto give us the lo-down on how to get ready before a date with your special Valentine.

1. Get prepping!

To get baby-soft skin, give yourself a good scrub from top to toe before you hop in the shower. I love the Mama Mio Double Buff Dual Enzyme Exfoliatoras it really polishes the skin and gets rid of any dry patches. Massage it onto dry skin and rinse off in the shower. Once you’re out the shower, apply some of the Mama Mio Megamama Super-Rich Omega Body Lotion onto damp, not dry, skin (applying moisturiser onto damp skin helps hydrate the skin slightly better). Gently exfoliate your lips using the LUSH Lip Scrubto get rid of any flakiness and apply a nice thick layer of lipbalm and leave it to sink in while you do your makeup. I can highly recommend Eucerin Aquphor– it’s a great all-purpose product that does a fantastic job of keeping the lips soft and kissable (it can also be used on cuticles, dry patches, cuts and scrapes…the list goes on).

If I could give one piece of advice, it would be to fill in your eyebrows. Yes, it takes time, but by filling them in, you create structure, you frame your face – you can get away with doing very little to the rest of your face if your brows are in good knick

. I would also recommend getting them professionally shaped and tinted every few weeks if time allows – it’s extremely affordable and it means you can spend less time filling them in every day.

3. Eye Spy a hottie

When it comes to a quick and simple eye, look to cream eyeshadows. They are a doddle to apply, and the don’t crease, fade or smudge. The MAC Paint Pot cream eyeshadows are my favourite – Groundwork and Constructivist are sensational colours and they work on all skin tones and eye colours (you can see swatches here). Apply the colour all over the lid with your finger and blend with a fluffy brush so there are no hard edges. If you want to apply an eyeliner to create some more definition, then by all means, go for it. I prefer dark chocolatey browns and khaki greens – they are more subtle than black and they blend seamlessly into the colour of the eyeshadow.

My top time-saving tip to cheat the appearance of a fuller lash line would be to apply a gel liner onto the top waterline (the fleshy bit underneath your eyelashes). I know it sounds revolting, and it does feel very funny the first time you do it, but trust me, it really works. Simply look down into a mirror, pull your eyelid up, and trace along the waterline with the liner.

5. Lip Service

Last but not least, the lips. If you don’t want to use the cream blush, then stick to a nice hydratinglipstick/lipbalm which creates a ‘your lips but better’ effect. I don’t know about your husband/boyfriend/partner, but mine refuses to kiss me if I have a bright colour on my lips – so for that reason I steer clear of a bold lip on date night. However, if your partner isn’t phased, then carry on! Some natural options include the Revlon Colorburst Lip Butter in ‘Peach Parfait’, MAC Lustre Lipstick in ‘Patisserie’, Chanel Rouge Coco Shine in ‘Boy’ and, my all-time favourite, the Clarins Instant Light Lip Perfector in ’06’.

Beauty Contributor

Camilla Corder is the co-founder of South African beauty blog All Dolled Up.